“No nation, no society, no community can hold its head high and claim to be part of the civilized world if it condones the practice of discriminating against one half of humanity represented by women.” – Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

The only concern here is gender inequality. The widespread practice of aborting female foetuses happens every day: the reality of gender inequality in India, origin of gender inequality and how to deactivate it.

Reality of Gender Equality

Firstly, the reality of gender inequality in India is very complex and diversified, because it is present in many ways, many fields and many classes. Fields like education, employment opportunities, where men are always preferred over women. Consider the case – a girl taking admission in mechanical engineering. Doesn’t it sound a bit awkward because it’s always considered a man’s field.

There again comes this menace – gender inequality. The gender inequality faced by women was so much that many women claimed May God give sons to all.This is a fact and India has witnessed gender inequality from its early history due to its socio-economic and religious practices that resulted in a wide gap between the position of men and women in the society. Clearly, then gender gaps that are widespread in access to basic rights, access to and control of resources, in economic opportunities and also in power and political voice are an impediment to development.

Origin of Gender Equality

Secondly, the origin of this gender inequality has always been the male ego. At least in India, a woman still needs the anchor of a husband and a family. Their dominating nature has led women to walk with their head down. It was all practised from the beginning and is followed till date. Consider the woman’s reservation case in parliament. The opposing party believes that women are born to do household work and manage kids, and not to corrupt the country by taking hold over politics. Here, just as women’s domestic work is undervalued, so are their skills in the world of employment. Most are concentrated in the poorly-paid, low-skilled ‘womens’ sectors of the economy.

Deactiviting Gender Inequality

What we need today are trends where girls are able not only to break out of the culturally determined patterns of employment but also to offer advice about career possibilities that look beyond the traditional pail of jobs. It is surprising that in spite of so many laws, women still continue to live under stress and strain. To ensure equality of status for our women we still have miles to go.

Thus, it is rightly said – Man and Woman are like two wheels of a carriage. The life of one without the other is incomplete.

Manisha Adlakha

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